Adaptive Ride Height in the Alps..

[Geekay]

Morning - i'll warn you now this thread is likely, mostly, all about me worrying too much - i tend to do it.

I have a new-to-me R1300GSA - its an April '25 model with a few thousand miles on it - it replaced a 2016 1200GSA which i owned for over 8 years and had many miles of fun both in the UK and europe.

I'm off on an alps trip soon - leaving hull - Rotterdam ferry on Thursday 6th August - heading through germany to the italian alps. I'll be 2-up with my daughter on the back and so both panniers & top-box will be used.

My bike has "adaptive ride height - comfort" - which i am enjoying - it makes a difference in confidence when loaded and 2-up so thats good.

But i am wondering what it is like in Alpine hairpins - has anyone tried it out yet? - does it work ok or do they force it to stay 'high' (or 'low' i suppose) - i'm assuming it must be going up and down like a yo-yo as you brake for hairpins and then accelerate out of them?

I have one one or two occasions had my foot hit the ground in a tight bend in the UK - coming to a very slow corner, the bike lowers itself and then i suspect its an element of wrong-cambered road in corner and i've hit the ground with my foot. so i am worrying about a foot-strike mishap in a hairpin. Although the suspension, even in the low setting, will be slightly higher (more preload) when the bike is fully loaded so maybe its not a worry at all!

any advice from anyone? - should i just forget about it and let it do its thing?

thanks,

G

 

[Barnoe]

I would just turn it off its its easy done.
Can always turn it back on for other parts of the journey.

Apologies, I've never had this option so don't know its its as simple as something in the menu to turn off.

 

[Tyzer]

Mine is not a GSA but you dont even notice it lowering or highering unless the set up is different on a GSA.I've done the Pyrenees and just back from the Alps which included the Stelvio which has probably the tightest steepest hairpins you'll come across without any issues what so ever,all 2 up with luggage. Crack on and enjoy your trip I'm sure you'll be fine.

 

[shez1]

I tend to spend a lot of miles on mountain roads and hairpins and I have never noticed any ride height transitions or ground clearance issues. This is loaded but solo on a GS. If you had ASA I would wonder how it coped with hairpins? (I don't have it).

 

[Barnoe]

What speed does the suspension start to lower?

Even if your going 2mph and it lowers, i would have thought at that speed your going to be riding vertical anyway.
Anyone who can get here knee down at less than 5 mph is a much better rider than me

Sorry i don't know how it fully works although i get the general idea, I'm 6'4" so will probably never use it.

 

[JoeBiff]

I’ve adaptive ride height and ASA.
The bike copes fine with both options in hairpins.

As far as I know, the ARH can’t be disabled and, anyway, why would you want to do that?
It lowers to its lowest setting at about 15MPH then raises once speed reaches 30MPH - if you can manage any faster than that on a hairpin, it isn’t a hairpin

And, just to add for reassurance I’ve ridden dozens if not hundreds of hairpins on the bike. Enjoy the holiday

 

[botus]

based on the horrific reliability of the DSA suspension mostly linked to that exact feature, I would disable it for the ride and see how you get on

as for those that can't notice it in use ??? the bike behaves like a sick pig, messing the rear of the bike around all day long. Sure if you can ride, the back of the bike randomly going squirrely as you throw it around if lucky should be more disconcerting, than life threatening (when you ride with an reasonably large safety margin, as you should on public roads). But why buy a big / tall bike if you're not a big person? Surely the money would be better spend on therapy for your ego problems?

 

[G&T]

I think you are worrying unnecessarily, but I understand with your daughter on the back. Leave ‘ARH’ on as when you look up to your right to see if a truck or bus coming down it’ll be easier for you to stop & wait. You are probably catching your feet because of your foot position on the peg. Tuck it in more and you’ll be fine.

 

[JoeBiff]

based on the horrific reliability of the DSA suspension mostly linked to that exact feature, I would disable it for the ride and see how you get on

as for those that can't notice it in use ??? the bike behaves like a sick pig, messing the rear of the bike around all day long. Sure if you can ride, the back of the bike randomly going squirrely as you throw it around if lucky should be more disconcerting, than life threatening (when you ride with an reasonably large safety margin, as you should on public roads). But why buy a big / tall bike if you're not a big person? Surely the money would be better spend on therapy for your ego problems?

Oh dear….
Have you missed your daily dose of amitriptyline, today?

 

[RichardD]

More nonsense above from Borus.

The bike will be fine with the adaptive ride height working as intended.

I was in the Alps a couple of weeks ago. Didn’t give it a second thought.

 

[leadfarmer]

As others have said, adaptive ride height won’t change anything in hairpins, no need to worry about it

The only time I notice it is pulling away from a stop, onto a roundabout for example, the steering can feel slightly heavier, I presume because the back end is a bit lower and so the forks are effectively raked out a tiny bit more

If you’ve not ridden it 2 up much already you’re probably going to be blown away by how well the variable spring rate works, for me it’s a game changer

 

[Geekay]

Lots of good responses - thank you - the general concensus seems to be "let it do its thing".

I don't actually feel it changing at all - if it werent for the indicator on the dash pointing up or down, i'd not feel any change at all in the bike - i just wondered if it would have a fit - i am likely to slow down (i think) below the 18-ish-mph that it starts to lower at for some hairpins - and i will likely accelerate above the 34-ish-mph that it starts to raise at on the straights between hairpins.

 

[Martin GSA UK]

Adaptive Ride Height - Comfort ("ARH-C"): The "Comfort" means this is the lowered GSA suspension, with the adaptive functionality to lower it further, when you slow below 15mph, raising again at 30mph, as noted above.

Observations:
- ARH-C puts you at the same height as a GS (non Adventure), with adaptive ride height. Plenty of room for fun on the twisties
- As a general rule, ignore Botus, he has something wrong. If I've understood him (I admit i didn’t read his post very carefully) in this case his advice would have the opposite result. The electronic suspension will seek the correct pre-load for your increased weight (passenger and luggage). So you shouldn't be compromised on ride height much, if at all.
- I have AHR (non- Comfort version), I find the ride height is slightly higher if you set it on 'Dynamic', rather than 'Road'.
- When approaching tight turns, make sure the balls of your feet are on the pegs.
- I toured Switzerland last year with a friend. He was on his 1250GS (not Adventure) with the factory low suspension and full luggage. Probably lower pegs than your bike. He flew round the hairpins with no problem. Never even thought about it.

IMO, not only will you be fine, after the first set of hairpins, you will find you chose the right bike for the trip. Have a great trip. What a father daughter experience!

 

[Wrinkly]

based on the horrific reliability of the DSA suspension mostly linked to that exact feature, I would disable it for the ride and see how you get on

as for those that can't notice it in use ??? the bike behaves like a sick pig, messing the rear of the bike around all day long. Sure if you can ride, the back of the bike randomly going squirrely as you throw it around if lucky should be more disconcerting, than life threatening (when you ride with an reasonably large safety margin, as you should on public roads). But why buy a big / tall bike if you're not a big person? Surely the money would be better spend on therapy for your ego problems?

Utter absolute nonsense.

 

[littleade]

Not done it myself but know a less tall chap who goes every year to the Alps 2 up fully loaded on his 1250GS. What he found very useful was the intercom between him and his Mrs as she turns on the pillion seat to look beyond the hair pin to see what was coming to let him know if he coukd negotiate the hairpin without stopping or not.

 

[Geekay]

Not done it myself but know a less tall chap who goes every year to the Alps 2 up fully loaded on his 1250GS. What he found very useful was the intercom between him and his Mrs as she turns on the pillion seat to look beyond the hair pin to see what was coming to let him know if he coukd negotiate the hairpin without stopping or not.

yes - i do that (- not sure you have to be "less tall" for that to be effective mind)

My daughter has been doing alps trips with me since she was 11 and is a very experienced co-pilot for this!
(- shes 22 now, and, sadly, i suspect this might be out last daddy-daughter trip for a while as she will be a junior doctor next year and enter the world of 'work' )

 

[JoeBiff]

I see Max Branning has found a Wi-Fi signal in the Himalayas?
Fucking unbelievable.

 

[gateway77]

Adaptive Ride is a fantastic addition for the GS / A - turning it off would be nuts on any tour.

Personally, specifically on mountain hairpins I frequently put my bike (GS) into Enduro mode as I really like the very smooth throttle response it delivers.
It also keeps the bike in the low setting which suits me perfectly in those conditions and around towns where a good deal of tight manoeuvring on small roads / lanes is required.
I've never grounded the pegs in this scenario. ( just come back for a 6k European tour with plenty of tight technical corners along the way).

NB - you would want your toes on the pegs rather than hanging down the front.

My default set up unless its wet weather is to have only Enduro and Dynamic Pro pre-selected on the mode button so I can quickly change between them.

I think the adaptive height changes at just over 5 mph. It is seamless in operation, excellent in delivery.

Hope you have a great trip.

 

[grantmac]

based on the horrific reliability of the DSA suspension mostly linked to that exact feature, I would disable it for the ride and see how you get on

as for those that can't notice it in use ??? the bike behaves like a sick pig, messing the rear of the bike around all day long. Sure if you can ride, the back of the bike randomly going squirrely as you throw it around if lucky should be more disconcerting, than life threatening (when you ride with an reasonably large safety margin, as you should on public roads). But why buy a big / tall bike if you're not a big person? Surely the money would be better spend on therapy for your ego problems?

I dont normaly get into a pissing match from behind my keyboard but I am really a bit lost as to this reply.....

I have had 3 GS/A in the past 10 years and I do find the 1300 GSA to be a great ride. Of course its all subjective, and no doubt the usual 1300 haters will be along to berate this and tell me I have a shite bike...... but I find the comment 'bike behaves like a sick pig'' very strange. Mine behaves great after 1 year and 12750 km and yes maybe I am one of the lucky ones with no issues...... at least not yet.

 

[Shoboshi]

Not an issue... Get on it and ride it!